Bbadshaw



(No Model.)

A. WEEDEN.

POST DRIVER. No. 332,687. Patented Dec. 15, 1885.

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, Pa Z & & Mlrzeuw. [live/Z601 NITED STATES ALFRED \VEEDEN, OF BON,WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OE ONE-HALE TO J. \V. BRADSHAYV, OF SAME PLACE.

POST-DRIVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,687, dated December15, 1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, ALFRED \VEEDEN, of

Bon, in the county of Richlaud and State of \Visconsin, have invented anImproved Post- Driver, of which the following is a specification.

The special object of the invention is to com bine certaininstrumentalities with a wagonframe in such a way that posts may bedriven [0 into the ground at the desired distance apart, while themechanism may be conveniently and expeditiously moved from place toplace.

The invention will first be described in connection with the drawings,and then pointed out in the claims.

Figure l of the drawings is a plan view.-

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section.

In the drawings, A represents an ordinary wagon-frame, except that Ipreferably make the beams a a converge toward the front, so

as to bring the uprights of rack B more compactly together, to bettersupport the weight of hammer C. The rack 13 is pivoted at b b to thebearingblocks a a on the frame, and is provided at the top with acap-plate, I). Be-

tween two uprights on this cap is journaled a pulley, I), over whichpasses a band, d, detachably, so that the hammer rope, chain, or otherflexible connection, E, may not escape from the pulley.

F F are braces, which have longitudinal slotsff at the lower end, whilethey are pivoted at the upper to the side bars, 1) V, of the rack.

ff are clamp-screws, which pass through slotsff with their shanks, andinto the sides of frame A. By loosening the clamp-screws the braces mayhe slid so as to support the rack at a greater or less forwardprojection or in a perpendicular plane.

The hammer O is provided on each side with a groove, 0, which fitsloosely over the guides b b of rack, and thus causes the hammer in itsfall to strike exactly where it is intended.

5 The flexible connection E is made fast to the hammer, passed overrack-pulley D, carried under a pulley, G, journaled in uprights g 9,near front of frame, and then made fast to a pulley, H, on the WindlassI. On the latter I preferably use diametrically-opposite crankhandles z"i, so that two strong men may wind up the heavy hammer. The pulley H ismade to slide loosely on the windlass or shaft I, and carries on oneside a half-clutch, h,which con nects with the fast clutch h onWindlass.

Then it is desired to wind up the hammer, a workman operates thehand-lever J, rod K, and bifurcated horizontal lever L, so as to lockthe half-clutches h h to one another, and incidentally to the Windlass.On the other hand, as soon as the hammer has reached its intendedheight, a reverse movement of lever J disconnects the pulley H from theWindlassclutch, allows it to turn, and the hammer falls on the top orhead of post.

I may use a ratchet-wheel and pawl on the Windlass and frame, so thatthe Windlass can never turn backward and the hammer can never fall untilthe pulley His unclutched from the shaft or Windlass.

I am aware that it is not new to raise the hammer or ram by means ofrack, pulleys, and Windlass, or to use ahorizontally-movable lever todisconnect the two parts of a clutch, or to connect'such alever with apullrod, or to shift the braces by an arc-slot slightly, so as to allowfor the inclination of the ground; but what I have done is to regulatethe distance of the fall of the hammer, and thus graduate its blow tothe softness or hardness of the ground. This has been found by me to benecessary to prevent a post from being driven too far into the ground.This I accomplish by pivoting my braces to the rack and clamping themadjustably to the frame by means of long straight slots.

Another thing which Iaocomplish is to com bine the trip with theWindlass mechanism, so that one man can both raise and trip the hammer.This is done by connecting ahandlever with an ordinary clutchlever, andarranging said hand-lever in such local relation with the hand-crank ofWindlass-shaft that the hand-crank will be within easy reach of onehand, while the hand-lever will be within convenient reach of the otherhand.

As the wagon straddles the line of fence, one man is sufficient to workthe post-driver and drive up his team from point to point, while anothersets up the posts in position to be driven.

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is-

1. In post-drivers, the two braces for the ver, and placed in such'localrelation to the hand-crank on Windlass that a man working [0 'theWindlass may also work the trip mechanism, as described.

ALFRED WEEDEN. Witnesses:

MINNIE SATTERLEE, J. W. BRADSHAW.

